Machine for punching holes corresponding to serial numbers in record cards



W. SPIKA Dec. 30. 1969 NUMBERS IN RECORD CARDS Filed April 26, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.4

"III! I II as J o5 a/.3 45 61 I0 9 6 0402 34567 894 U3 2i04 67 95 Ha a -3456? 892 I '25 5 6- n0 9 I m R l m? mm x w WM 2 Z I U f M m ILWIH M 5 EII/I/IWHHIIHIWHMIIHIIHL k :w 111111111 w i I m; U I u 8 7 1 a a Ly 4 m I F 4 LEE? 0 r k 2 in U 9 n m WW/. 7 y /\W w m 2J0 DETENTED KNOB Dec. 30. 1969 NUMBERS IN RECORD CARDS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1968 .1 l EEWWEJL Na N \\\\I|/IIH/() I NW QQ cow 0 f r Dec. 30. 1969, w. SPIKA MACHINE FOR PUNCHING HOLES CORRESPONDING TO SERIAL NUMBERS IN RECORD CARDS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 26, 19 68 F IGS W 9 mm 2 Q 2 2 2 wk W INVENTOR. WOLFRAM SPIKA ATTORNEYS Dec. 30. 19.69 W. SPIKA Y ,486,

MACHINE FCR PUNCHING HOLES CORRESPONDING TO SERIAL NUMBERS IN RECORD CARDS Filed April 26, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. WOLFRAM SPIKA ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,486,690 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 3,486,690 MACHINE FOR PUNCHING HOLES CORRESPOND- ING TO SERIAL NUMBERS IN RECORD CARDS Wolfram Spika, Sparta, N.J., assignor to Bobst Champlain, Inc., Roseland, N .J., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 724,546

Int. Cl. G06k 1/02 Us. Cl. 234-61 .24 Claims ABSTRACT on THE DrscLosuizE- digits, or nine digits, whereas in some cases the maximum serial number may require a smaller number of digits, say three digits for a reduced maximum serial number before repeating from zero. In such case it was heretofore necessary to punch zeros for all of the unused digits, or to'make extensive changes in the machine to eliminate punches and/or backup pins. This would be costly in skilled labor and in machine downtime. Even with such changes it would not be possible to use three digits located at the first three columns of the card, because thee'dge of the card is received in a guide track which would prevent the necessary movement and relocation of the punch and die set.

With prior accumulators it has been difiicult to provide for the punching of alternate numbers, skipping the intermediate numbers, in order to increase Production by simultaneous use of two accumulators.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present machine, as before, employs a rectangusecond assembly of hollowcoaxial shafts has gears meshing with the" said gears. The other end of eachsecond shaft has an indicator wheel'carrying' numbers corre-v sponding to the punch then backed by the cam wheel. These indicator wheels are conveniently adjacent and are in proper sequence for easy; reading'fThey'jhave' pr'o-' jections to act as thumb wheels for manual setting of the punch-reading, and they also act'as detent wheels. Additional cam wheels are provideddor inillion's. A' third assembly of hollow coaxia lshafts connectsthe millions cam wheels to gears meshing with"'gears carried by ajfourth assembly of'hollow coaxial shafts, and this fourth assembly has indicator wheels which a'ctalso as'"thu nib wheels and detent wheels, and arefadjacent the autorn at 'ically moved indicator'wheelsfor easy'rea'ding of the completehigh number. To reduce the numberofdig'its' for a'reduced maximum serialhnumber, the entire cam wheel assembly with th'e'co'ax ial shaft's',"gears',' iand"indi-' cator wheels, etc., is bodily" shifted inaxial direction relative to the backup pins, thus us'ingasfew columns of digits" as desired, and if desired these may be located at the ve r'yend of the card. Y

c'olumns"of holesare necessarily very ,closely spaced,

corresponding to units, tens, hundreds and so on. It further employs a plurality of cam wheels, butthe cam wheels are thin and are disposed in face-to-face relation with a center-to-center spacing in axial direction which is the same as th spacing of the columns of holes in the record card. For convenience, backup pins are employed between the cams and the punches, but in this case the backup pins are straight rather than offset or bent, and therefore can take a much heavier load without jamming or excessive friction. This is made possible while using drive wheels which are better spaced in axial direction, because an assembly of hollow coaxial shafts, one for each cam Wheel, extends from the cam wheels to the drive wheels. As usual, a first drive wheel is moved incrementally, as by a pawl and ratchet wheel, and there is means to transfer the units movement from nine to zero, to the tens drive wheel which is moved from zero to one, and so on for hundreds and thousands, .etc. Each ratchet wheel preferably has an adjacent ratchet wheel with oppositely facing teeth, making it possible to provide serial numbers in either ascending or descending direction. 1 I

Each drive wheel may include a gear, and a second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts is disposed parallel to the'first assembly. Each shaft of'the second assembly has a gear meshing with a corresponding drive wheel gear,

a rectangular assembly of punches is emp1oyed. Wheels correspondingto units, tensphundreds etc..-are provided with. projectionsto back up one punch or another in a column. These wheels, commonly called cams, have here tofore beenspaced apart axiallyan amount. greatlyex ceeding the spacing of the punches, and therefore ofi'setor bent backup: pins have been used between the punches and the cams When working With a more complex or manifold cardhaving an additional sheet and carbon paper, etc., the punch load is increased, ,thereby overloading and bending one or' more .backup pins, which then jam and make the machine, commonly. called an accumulator, inoperative. f V t Anotherdifficulty with prior accumulators would arise when requiring only a reduced number of digits. The

accumulator may have columns of punches for say six and the other end of each such shaft has an indicator wheel carrying numbers corresponding to the punch then backed by the cam wheel. Theseindicator,wheelsare conveniently adjacent for easy reading, and are disposed in the usual reversed sequence of units, tens, hundreds,

etc.',' for easy reading. Moreover, these indicator ,.whee1s may have projections to act as thumb wheels for manual settingof the punch reading, and they may also act as de tent wheels, there being spring pressed detents bearing on the detent wheels to center the position of the cam projection' over thebackup pin then being backed by the cam L To take care of extrahigh numbers, say for millions, additional closely adjacent cam wheels may be provided, but these cam wheels require movement atsueh long intervals that they may be changed manually. For this purpose a third assembly of hollow coaxial shafts connects each of the millions cam wheels to a manuallyg'settable wheel, or more specifically, to agear wheel meshing with gear wheels carried by a fourth assembly of hollow coaxial shafts which are conveniently aligned with the second assembly, and this fourth assemblyhas indicator .wheels which may act also asthumb wheelsand detent wheels, and which are adjacent the automatically moved indicator wheels for easy reading of the complete high number.

To reduce the number of digits for a reduced maximum serial number, the entire cam wheel assembly With the coaxial shafts, gears, and indicator wheels, etc., may be bodily shifted in axial direction relative to the backup pins and die, thus using as few column of digits as de sired, and if desired these may be located at the very end of the card.

To skip numbers the linkage to the pawl is shifted to double the pawl movement, and a shield is provided over the tens ratchet wheel so that it is only moved one unit, despite the double travel of the pawl.

The foregoing and additional features are described in the following detailed specification which is accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a machine for punching record cards;

FIG. 2 shows the end portion of a typical record card;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the present accumulator;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view looking at the left end of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken approximately on the stepped line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows how the pawl may be reversed to operate ratchet wheels for descending instead of ascending numbers;

FIG. 7 is an end view of a pawl assembly with teeth of progressively varying length;

FIG. 8 is a vertical elevation of the accumulator looking toward the right end of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 shows linkage adapted for ascending or descending numbers and for skipped numbers;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the detents which bear against the detent wheels;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view corresponding to the lower part of FIG. 4, but showing how the head of the machine may be shifted axially to use a reduced number of columns;

FIG. 12 is an elevational fragmentary view showing a die to which the accumulator is secured;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary plan view of one end portion of the die;

FIG. 14 is a section taken on the angle lines 1414 of FIG. 5, the right hand portion being a vertical section, and the left hand portion being a sloping but more nearly horizontal section;

FIG. 15 shows a special pawl which may be used when punching odd numbers while skipping even numbers;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary view showing a shield which is applied to the tens ratchet wheel when skipping alternate numbers; and

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary view showing how two series of cards may be printed simultaneously, using two accumulators to double the output or production rate.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the machine 'is one described in my US. Patent 3,276,772 issued Oct. 4, 1966. The cards to be operated on are stacked in a magazine 112 located at one end of the machine, the cards extending transversely of the machine. They are intermittently fed horizontally in a straight line through the machine, and are discharged into one or another of the two receptive pockets indicated at 114 and 116. During their passage through the machine they are operated on at any one or more of six die stations most of which have fixed punches for repetitive punching. The cards then pass through a printing station generally designated 118, which usually but not necessarily is used to print successive numbers or serial numbers on the cards passingtherethrough.

If it be desired to punch the card with holes corresponding to the ink printed serial number, an accumulator is shown located at 120, and this mechanism is connected to the machine drive by a link 122 in order to progressively change the punches.

One station may be used to cut the corner of a card for orientation; another may be used to provide score or tear lines; another may be used for the accumulator; and the others may be used for ordinary repeat perforations. A plurality of stations makes it possible to perforate almost anywhere on the card.

A large area bolster is indicated in dotted lines at 124, this bolster serving for all six of the die stations. The bolster carries die holders for the lower dies, which all reciprocate vertically in unison. Upper bars or die holders carry the upper dies or punch holders, which here remain stationary.

The cards are fed through the stations with a stopand-go motion by means of endless chains which run past the die stations. The link 122 is connected to the bolster 124.

One end of a typical record card is shown in FIG. 2. In a commonly used dimension this card is 3% inches high and 7% inches long, and has eighty columns for perforations indicated by the small rows of numbers at and 142. The eighty columns occupy a card length of less than seven inches and therefore the columns are very closely spaced (0.087 inch center-to-center). The punched holes indicated at 144 are rectangular and are larger in vertical dimension than in width. The card moves through a perforating machine such as that shown in FIG. 1, and may be perforated anywhere within the limits described. For some purposes the cards must be serially numbered, and in FIG. 2, a printed serial number is shown at 146, and the corresponding perforations shown represent 0001. In the present case, the serial number has only four digits it being sufficient to go to 9999, after which the serial numbers may repeat. For this purpose only four columns of perforations are needed, and in the present case are shown at the first four columns in the card, but it will be understood, reverting to FIG. 1, that the accumulator and its cutting die may the shifted from one side of the machine to the other, thus locating the serial number perforations wherever desired on the cards.

The die used for this purpose may be conventional, and requires no detailed description. It is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the latter being a fragmentary plan view taken approximately at the line 1313 in'FIG. 12, the bottom or female die 148 having a hardened die plate 150 and being mounted in the present case on the bolster 124 shown in FIG. 1 for vertical movement. The upper die or punch holder 152 is fixedly secured to the accumulator 120, and carries the punches. It also carries a stripper plate or pad 154 which is urged downwardly by compression springs 156. Referring to FIG. 13, the present die has nine columns, indicated at 131-139, and thus is capable of providing serial numbers with nine digits. It will be understood that the die is disposed with its long axis across the card, that is vertically, as viewed in FIG. 2.

The punches are free to rise with the record card unless backed by a cam projection. For convenience, it is customary to provide backup pins between the punches and the cam wheels. These backup pins are indicated in broken lines 158 in FIG. 12. It will be seen that there are twelve such backup pins for twelve punches, these corresponding to numerical values 0 through 9, shown in FIG. 2, with two extra punches, sometimes called X and Y punches, for making code perforations above the numeral perforations when needed. Thus, in FIG. 13 the complete die if shown, would have twelve rows of punches instead of the three shown, or a total of one hundred eight punches. The lower ends of the backup pins, viewed edgewise, are shown at 158 at the bottom of FIGS. 4, 8 and 11 (these ends being exposed because the die has been omitted except in FIGS. 12 and 13). An important feature of the present case is that the backup pins 158 are straight upward extensions of the punches, and it will be understood that in theory, long punches could be used, extending all the way up to the cam wheels, in which case the long punch could-be considered to be a punch at its lower portion, and a lbackup pin at its upper portion, or conversely, the backup pins may be thought of as parts of the punches. For convenience, the usual practice is to provide backup pins which are separable from the punches, as here shown.

The straight backup pins are riged, strong, inexpensive, and easily assembled and removed with minimum down time. p

Referring now to FIG. 5, a cam wheel 1 is shown in broken lines, it having projections, in this case six projec tions 160. a column of backup pins is indicated at 158, punches 162. Two extra backup pins are shown at 164 disposed over two extra punches 166, for the X and Y designation mentioned above, but these pins are used infrequently, and when used are fixed, so that they may be operatedlby hand, by use of a slide 168 having a stop abutment at 170 which may be moved over either the X punch or the Y .punch, or may be pulled back so that it is not over either punch, in which case the X and Y punches simply rise freely with the card and the punches 166 are inoperative. There are nine such slides, one for each column. a

In FIG. 5, it may be noted that the backup pins are stepped to prevent them from falling out of the accumulator, but they are free to rise when not stopped by a projection 160 on the cam wheel 1. It will also be seen that a first projection leaves the last backup pin as a second projection reaches the first backup pin. The cam is driven incrementally in steps corresponding to movement from one backup pin to the next. A single cam wheel 1 takes care of one column of perforations, and it will be understood that if the maximum serial number goes up to nearly one billion, requiring nine digits or columns, there will be nine such cam wheels, one for each column.

Referring now to FIG. 14, the nine cam wheels are shown at 1, through 9, and they have a thickness or centerto-center spacing corresponding to the spacing of the columns, which is only 0.087 inch from center-to-center. The cam wheels are disposed in face-to-face relation as shown.

Cam wheels 1 through 6 are driven by drive wheels 21 through 26 which may be and are well spaced apart in axial direction. For this purpose there is an assembly of hollow coaxial shafts 11 through 16, one for each cam wheel. Thus cam wheel 1 is secured to one end of shaft 11, the other end of which is secured to drive wheel 21; cam wheel 2 is secured to one end of shaft 12, which at its other end is secured to drive wheel 22, and so on. In the present case the drive wheels are ratchet wheels one of which is shown at 25 in FIG. 5, it being moved incrementally by a feed pawl assembly 172 having teeth suggested at 91. The feed pawl is pivoted on a rod 174 which is carried between two arms 176, which are at the sides of the machine as shown in FIG. 14, the rod 174 extending between the arms 176. The feed pawl assembly is urged toward the ratchet wheel by means of a pull spring 180 which acts also as an over-the-center spring. FIG. 14 also shows how'the feed pawl assembly comprises six pawls 91 through 96, engaging the six ratchet wheels 21 through 26 respectively.

This pawl arrangement employs teeth which are progressively shorter, and the ratchet wheels have a deep notch after nine teeth to provide a combined movement or transfer of one digit of the tens wheel 22 each time the units wheel 21 moves from 9 to 0. The pawl tooth 91 is so long that the pawl tooth 92 and succeeding teeth donot engage their respective ratchet wheels. When the notch is reached pawl tooth 91 descends somewhat until pawl tooth 92 engages its ratchet wheel, while the remaining teeth still idle. This progressive shortening of the pawl teeth is shown in FIG. 7 and in FIG. 14. A

Other transfer arrangements are known and may be used to ensure movement at appropriate time of the tens and hundreds, etc. cam wheels. I

-It is sometimes desired to use serial numbers in descending instead of ascending relation, and for thatpurpose each ratchet wheel 21 through 26 is accompanied by a companion ratchet wheel 31 through 36 which are of similar configuration but with the ratchet teeth facing in opposite direction, as shown at 31 in FIG. 6. At this time the pawl arm 172 may be turned about the rod 174 as shown by the change from the solid line position 172 in FIG. 5, to the broken line position 172'. The pawl assembly has a companion set of teeth 101 through 106, which are directed upward in FIGS. 5 and 7, but downward in FIG. 6. The teeth 101 through 106 are graduated in length like the teeth 91 through 96. They are offset somewhat in axial direction as is best shown in 'FIG. 14, so that when the pawl assembly is flipped over, the teeth 101 through 106 will engage the ratchet wheels 31 through 36 instead of the ratchet wheels 21 through 26.

In FIG. 14 the ratchet wheels 21 through 26 are additionally secured to gear wheels 41 through 46 respectively, and these mesh with gears 51 through 56 which turn about the axis of a fixed shaft 182. The relationship of the parts will be seen in FIG. 5, in which the gear 46 meshes with gear 56 which turns about shaft 182. In the present case, the gear ratio is two-to-one, and therefore a one-third rotation of gear 56 corresponds to the digits from 0 through 9.

Reverting to FIG. 14, there is a second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts 61 through 66 on the fixed rod 182, and these are secured respectively to the gears 51 through 56. At their other ends the shafts 61 through 66 are secured respectively to wheels 71 through 76 which, in the present case, serve three functions. They act as indicator or number wheels carrying'numbers corresponding to the punch then being backed by the respective cam wheel.

The wheels 71-76 also have projections 184 which are exposed through a windowed cover plate 186 (FIGS. 3-5 and which may be used for manual setting of the cam wheels, that is, the wheels 71-76 act as thumb wheels. In addition, the projections 184 cooperate with springpressed detents so that the wheels act as detent wheels. Alternate detents may be angularly displaced as shown in FIG. 5, in which detent 81 and detent 82 are both urged upward by a pull spring 188. The detents are shown looking from beneath in FIG. 10, and are pivoted on rod 190. Only one pull spring 188 is shown, but it will be understood that there are five such springs connected to nine detents in all. The detent action helps prevent unintended movement of the cam wheels, and further acts to center the position of a cam projection over a backup pin 158. r v

The indicator numbers are located in the spaces between the projections 184, and in FIG. 4 it will be seen that these numbers are brought conveniently adjacent and in a horizontal line for easy visual readout. Moreover, the numbers are in the desired reversed sequence of units, tens, hundreds, etc., reading from right to left. Reverting to FIG. 14, the sequence of the drive wheels 21 through 2.6 is backward, but by use of the gears 41 through 46 meshing with the gears 51 through 56, and by use of the second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts 61 through 66 for turning the wheels 71 through 76, the originally desired sequence of digits is reestablished.

Referring to FIG. 8, the arms 176 are secured to a shaft 178 which is rocked to move the feed pawl assembly. For this purpose shaft 178 is extended, as by means of a coupling 192 connected to a shaft 194 which extends to the side of the machine, where it carries an arm 196 shown in FIG. 9. This arm is rocked by a generally up right link 1.22 which extends downward to the bolster 124 (FIG. 1) of the machine which carries and operates the die. If the top bolster moves instead of the bottom bolster, the accumulator moves'with it, and. the lower end of link 122 is connected to a fixed member instead of a vertically reciprocating member. The arm 196 is here shown as a double arm, the part 96 being used for descending instead of ascending numbers. The link 122 then is disconnected from arm 196 and connected to arm 196'. It will be understood that a single arm may be used, with a set screw or key such that the arm may be released and turned 180 and then again fastened to the shaft 194.

As so far described, the accumulator would provide six columns of digits for a count up to one million. For a higher count, up to one billion, the die has three more columns of punches, and the accumulator has three more cam wheels indicated in FIG. 14 at 7, 8 and 9. Another assembly of hollow coaxial shafts 17 through 19 connects the cams 7 through 9 to gears 47 through 49 respectively. These gears are like the gears 41 through 46 previously referred to, and they similarly mesh with three smaller gears 57 through 59, which in diameter and pitch, are like the gears 51 through 56 previously referred to. There is a fourth assembly of hollow coaxial shafts marked 67 through 69, these being connected to and driven by the gears 57 through 59, and serving to connect the said gears to three wheels 77 through 79 which are like the wheels 71 through 76 previously described. Here again each wheel serves three purposes, it carrying numbers to act as an indicator wheel to show the setting of the corresponding cam wheel and the punch backed thereby. It acts also as a thumb wheel which is used to give the cam wheel a desired setting. It further acts as a detent wheel as previously described.

Inasmuch as a change in wheel 57 is required only after numbering a million cards, and a change in wheels 58 and 59 is still rarer, this change is made manually instead of automatically, and the wheels 77 through 79 serve the desired purpose conveniently. The wheels 77 through 79 are disposed adjacent the wheels 71 through 76, and in proper sequence for easy visual readout. This helps avoid errors in make-ready.

Referring now to FIG. 11, the head 200 of the machine has been moved to the left relative to the lower part 202 of the machine, so that the cam wheels 1 through 9 are displaced from the backup pins 158. In the present case four columns of backup pins 158 are shown in use, requiring only four cams, and these are cams 1 through 4, as they should be in order to provide incremental motion in single units. The permitted travel of the head is enough to permit use of only one column of digits.

This may be done with the die located anywhere over the card. It is particularly useful if the reduced number of digits is to be used at the left edge of the card. Heretofore that could not be done because the guide rail for the card would prevent movement of the die to the left. Here the desired change is made without moving the die.

Referring to FIG. 4, the head 200 is disposed in its original position over the base portion 202. The latter has bearing ears 204 carrying a shaft 206 which in turn carries a barrel cam 208. Cam 208 is so keyed or splined to shaft 206 that it may slide axially on the shaft. It is turned by a knob 210 which has a scale marked from 1 through 9, and which is preferably detented for the nine positions 40 degrees apart by means of a conventional detent. The barrel cam 208 is disposed between blocks 212 which are secured beneath and move with the head 200 of the machine.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a cam follower roller 214 is received in the cam track of the barrel cam 208, and is fixedly mounted on the stationary base portion 202 of the accumulator. When the knob 210 turns the barrel cam 208 the cam moves axially, and because of the blocks 212 at the ends of the cam, the upper body or head portion 200 of the accumulator moves axially with the cam. It is guided in this movement by rails 216 slidable relative to mating rails 218 formed in the lower stationary part 202 of the accumulator.

The part- 220 of the housing is hinged at 222 and is held closed by spring detents 224 (FIGS. 5 and 8). By turning the cover part 220 upward about hinge 222 there is easy access to the pawl assembly to reverse the position of the same.

Moreover, the larger housing or cover 226 may be turned about the shaft 206, it being latched in closed position by means of latch 228 biased by a compression spring 230. The detent 228 catches beneath a bar 232, and in FIG. 8 it will be seen that this bar 232 is elongated to accommodate the axial movement of the head 200 relative to the base, as was previously described in connection with FIG. 11.

When the housing 226 is swung open about shaft 206 the backup pins are exposed for removal or insertion, with minimum down time.

Referring now to FIG. 17, it is sometimes desired to double the production rate by numbering two sets of cards simultaneously, and in such case two accumulators may be employed. One should provide the odd numbers 1, 3, 5, etc., and the other the even numbers, 2, 4, 6, etc., as shown in FIG. 17.

Referring to FIG. 9, for this purpose the link 122 is shifted to a hole 240, so that it turns through double the are previously provided. This moves the feed pawl 91 two teeth or two units at a time. Referring now to FIG. 16, the tens ratchet wheel should move only one unit, and for that purpose a shield 242 is provided, which covers teeth of ratchet wheel 22 enough so that only the last half of the pawl movement takes effect, so that the ratchet wheel 22 (and all succeeding ratchet wheels 23 26) is moved only one unit or tooth instead of two. The pawls are integrally cast, and all move together as a unit.

For descending instead of ascending numbers the shield points in opposite direction, as shown at 242 in broken lines. Only part of the shield 242 is indicated.

The even numbers 2, 4, 6, etc. are thus taken care of, but with the odd numbers there would be difficulty in that the tens wheel 22 would be moved too late, during the change from 0 to 1 instead of from 9 to 0 of the first wheel 21. To take care of this a slightly modified pawl assembly is used as shown in FIG. 15, in which the pawl teeth 91 and 101' are displaced outward a distance of one ratchet tooth, relative to the remaining pawl teeth such as 9296 and 102-106.

To reduce friction and wear, the hollow coaxial shafts are preferably made of steel and bronze in alternation. This applies to all four assemblies of such shafts.

It is believed that the construction and method of use of my improved machine for punching holes corresponding to serial numbers in record cards, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described the invention in a preferred form, changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

In the claims the term drive wheel for driving the cam wheel is intended to apply to either ratchet wheel, or both, or the gear, or the assembly of ratchet wheels and gear.

I claim:

1. A machine for punching holes corresponding to serial numbers in record cards, said machine comprising a die having an array of punches disposed in closely adjacent columns corresponding to units, tens, hundreds and so on, the punches in each column corresponding to digits, a like array of straight backup pins, one for each punch, a plurality of closely adjacent thin cam wheels in faceto-face relation and having an axial center-to-center spacing the same as the spacing of the columns of punches and backup pins, each cam wheel serving to back one or another of the backup pins in a column of such pins, a drive wheel for each cam wheel, said drive wheels being more greatly spaced in axial direction, an assembly of hollow coaxial shafts, one for each cam wheel, said shafts extending from each cam wheel to its drive wheel, means responsive to operation of the die to drive the units drive wheel incrementally, and means to transfer the units movement at appropriate times to the tens drive wheel, and

so on.

2. A machine asdefined in claim 1, in which the cam wheels are large in diameter and have multiple projections spaced so that a second projection reaches the column of backup pins as a first projection leaves the column, and in which the drive wheels are ratchet wheels with teeth corresponding to movement from one backup pin to the next, a pawl engaging the units ratchetwheel, linkage operatively connected to the die operating mechanism t'oreciprocate the pawl, and meansto transfer the units movement at appropriate times to the tens drive wheel, and so on. 1 3. 'A machine as defined'in claim 2,in which each ratchet wheel has an adjacentvratchet wheel'with oppositely facing teeth, and means whereby a pawl may be used tozdrive one ratchet wheel or the other to provide eitheriascending or descending serial numbers."

4. A machine as defined in claim 3, 'in which there is'a pawl assembly having a series of spaced pawls with pro.- gressively shorter teeth at the ends, and in which the ratchet wheels have deep notches for every tenth ratchet tooth, saidspaced pawls operating on the spaced ratchet wheels for units, tens, etc., said notches and pawls providing the transfer from units to tens, etc., said pawl assembly beingpivoted so that -it can be turned from 'a position overlying the ratchet wheels at one side, to an opposite position overlying'the ratchet .wheels at the other side, said pawl assembly having teeth pointing in a directionopposite the-aforesaid teeth and being axially displaced, whereby when the pawl assembly is positioned at one side it operates on. the ratchet wheels for ascending' numbers, and when positioned at the other side it operates on the companion ratchetwheels for descending numbers. I 1 t 5.- A machine as-defined in claim 2, in which there is a pawl assembly having a series ofspaced pawls of progressively shorter teeth at the ends, and'in which the ratchet wheels have deep notches corresponding to zero, said spaced pawls operating on the spaced ratchet wheels for units, tens, hundreds, and so' on, said notches and. pawl assembly providing the transfer from units to tens to hundreds; etc., a part of the linkage to reciprocate the pawl being shiftable to double the movement of the pawl to provide alternate numbers while skipping the intermediate numbers, and a-shield over a pa'rt'of the tens ratchet wheel so that its pawl moves it only one tooth at the time of transfer from units to tens. 1 '6. -A machine as defined inclaim 2, in which there is a pawl assemblyfhaving a series of spaced pawls of progressively shorter teeth at the ,ends, and in which the ratchetwheels have deep notches corresponding to zero, said spaced pawls operating on the spaced ratchet wheels for units, tens, hundreds, and soon, said notchesvand pawl assembly providing the transfer from units to tens to hundreds, etc., a part of the linkage to reciprocate the pawl being shiftable to double the movement of the pawl to provide alternate numbers while skipping the intermediate numbers, and a shield over a part of the tens ratchet wheel so that its pawl moves it only one tooth at the time of transfer from units to tens, the pawl for the units ratchet wheel being supplied in two lengths differing from one tooth, whereby utilization of one pawl provides even numbers, and utilization of the other pawl provides odd numbers.

7. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which each drive wheel includes a gear, a second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts disposed parallel to the hollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the second assembly having a .gear meshing with a corresponding drive wheel gear, the

other end of each shaft of the second assembly having an indicator wheel carrying numberscorresponding to the punch then backed by the cam, said indicator wheels being conveniently adjacent for easy reading, and being disposed in the normal reverse sequence of units, tens, hundreds, etc. for easy reading.

8. A machine as defined in claim 7, in which there are a plurality of additional cam wheels for very high numbers which are to be manually set, a gear wheel for each high number cam wheel, a third assembly of hollow coaxial shafts connecting each high number can wheel t its gear wheel, said third assembly extending away from the said high number cam wheels in a direction opposite to the hollow coaxial shafts extending from the driven cam wheels, a fourth assembly of hollow coaxial shafts extending parallel to the cam wheel shafts in alignment with the second assembly, each shaft having a gear meshing with the gears of the third assembly, theother end of each shaft of the fourth assembly having an indicator Wheel, said indicator wheels having numbers corresponding to the cam wheel position and the punch then backed thereby, said indicator wheels of the fourth assembly being conveniently spaced adjacent the indicator wheels ofthe second assembly and being in proper sequence for easy readout.

9. A machine as defined in claim 7, in which there are a plurality of additional cam wheels for very high numbers say for millions which are to be manually set, a gear wheel for each high number cam wheel, a third assembly of hollow coaxial shafts connecting each high number cam wheel to its gear wheel, said third assembly extending away from the said high number cam wheels in a direction opposite to the hollow coaxial shafts extending from the driven cam Wheels, a fourth assembly of hollow coaxial shafts eXtending parallel to the cam wheelshafts in alignment with the second assembly, each shaft having a gear meshing withthe gears of the third assembly, the other end of each shaft of the fourth assembly having anindicator wheel, said indicator wheels having numbers corresponding to the cam wheel position and the punch then backed thereby, said indicator wheels of the fourth assembly being conveniently spaced adjacent the indicator wheels of the second assembly and being in proper sequence, saidindicator wheels having projections to, act as a thumb wheel and also as a detent wheel, and spring pressed detents bearing againsteachdetent wheel to center and hold its corresponding cam wheel in the manually set position. 1 I A I 10. A machine as defined in'claim '9,-"in which there is means affording a bodily shift'of the assembly of cam wheels and gears and coaxial shafts'an'dindicator-thumbdetent wheels in'axial direction relative to the columns of backup pins and punches, in order to useainumber of digits less than the number of cam wheelsfor a reduced maximum serial number. 9

11. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which each drive wheel includes a gear, a second assembly of .hollow coaxial shafts disposed parallel to thehollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the secondassembly having a gear meshing with a corresponding drive wheel gear, the other end of each shaft of the second assembly having a detent wheel, and spring pressed detents bearing on said detent wheels to center the position of the cam projection over the backup pin thenbeing backed-by the cam projection. 1

12. A machine as defined in claim '1, in which each drive wheel includes a gear, a second assembly ofv hollow coaxial shafts disposed parallel to the hollow coaxial mm wheel shafts, each shaft of the second assembly having a gear meshing with'a corresponding drive wheel gear, the other end of each shaft of the second assembly having a thumb wheel for manually setting the position of its correspondingcam wheel. P

13. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which each drive wheel includes a gear, a second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts disposed parallel to the hollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the second assembly having a gear meshing with a corresponding drive wheel gear, the other end of each shaft of the second assembly having an indicator wheel carrying numbers corresponding to the punch then backed by the cam, said indicator wheels being conveniently adjacent for easy reading, and being disposed in the normal reverse sequence of units, tens, hundreds, etc. for easy reading, said indicator wheels having projections to act as thumb wheels for manual setting and to also act as detent wheels, and spring pressed detents bearing on said detent wheels to center the position of the cam projection over the backup pin then being backed by the cam projection.

14. A machine as defined in claim 13, in which there is means affording a bodily shift of the assembly of cam wheels and gears and coaxial shafts and indicator-thumbdetent wheels in axial direction relative to the columns of backup pins and punches, in order to use a number of digits less than the number of cam wheels for a reduced maximum serial number.

15. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which there are a plurality of additional closely adjacent thin cam wheels for very high numbers (say for millions) which cam wheels are to be manually set, a manually settable wheel for each high number cam wheel for setting the position of the same, and another assembly of hollow coaxial shafts connecting each high number can wheel to its manually settable wheel.

16. A machine as defined in claim 15, in which said manually settable wheels connected to the cam wheels are gears, and in which there is another assembly of hollow coaxial shafts extending parallel to the hollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the parallel assembly having a gear meshing with the said manually settable gears, the other end of each shaft of the parallel assembly having an indicator wheel, said indicator wheels having numbers corresponding to the cam wheel position and the punch then backed thereby.

17. A machine as defined in claim 16, in which said indicator wheels have projections to act also as a detent wheel, and spring pressed detents bearing against said detent wheels to center and hold its corresponding cam wheel on the manually set position, each of said detent wheels acting also as a thumb wheel for manually setting the position of its corresponding cam wheel. 4

18. A machine as defined in claim 15, in which there is means affording a bodily shift of the cam wheel assembly in axial direction relative to the columns of backup pins and punches, in order to use a number of digits less than the number of cam wheels for a reduced maximum serial number.

19. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which there is means affording a bodily shift of the cam wheel assembly in axial direction relative to the columns of backup pins and punches, in order to use a number of digits less than the number of cam wheels for a reduced maximum serial number.

20. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which there is means alfording a bodily shift of the cam wheel assembly in axial direction relative to the columns of backup pins and punches, in order to use a number of digits less than the number of cam wheels for a reduced maximum serial number, said means including a barrel cam, a cam follower, and a detented knob to rotate the barrel cam in order to select an axial position of the cam wheel assembly over only a desired number of columns of punches.

21. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which the cam wheels are large in diameter and have multiple projections spaced so that a second projection reaches the column of backup pins as a first projection leaves the column, and in which the drive wheels are ratchet wheels with teeth corresponding to movement from one backup pin to the next, a pawl engaging the units ratchet wheel, linkage operatively connected to the die operating mechanism to reciprocate the pawl, and means to transfer the units movement at appropriate times to the tens drive wheel, and so on, and in which each ratchet wheel has an adjacent ratchet wheel with oppositely facing teeth, means whereby a pawl may be used to drive one ratchet wheel or the other to provide either ascending or descending serial numbers, and in which each drive wheel includes a gear, a second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts disposed parallel to the hollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the second assembly having a gear meshing with a corresponding drive wheel gear, the other end of each shaft of the second assembly having an indicator wheel carrying numbers corresponding to the punch then backed by the cam, said indicator wheels being conveniently adjacent for easy reading, and being disposed in the normal reverse sequence of units, tens, hundreds, etc. for easy reading, said indicator wheels having projections to act as thumb wheels for manual setting and to also act as detent wheels, and spring pressed detents bearing on said detent wheels to center the position of the cam projection over the backup pin then being backed by the cam projection.

22. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which the cam wheels are large in diameter and have multiple projections spaced so that a second projection reaches the column of backup pins as a first projection leaves the column, and in which the drive wheels are ratchet wheels with teeth corresponding to movement from one backup pin to the next, a pawl engaging the units ratchet wheel, linkage operatively connected to the die operating mechanism to reciprocate the pawl, and means to transfer the units movement at appropriate times to the tens drive wheel, and so on, and in which each ratchet wheel has an adjacent ratchet wheel with oppositely facing teeth, means whereby a pawl may be used to drive one ratchet wheel or the other to provide either ascending or descending serial numbers, and in which each drive wheel includes a gear, a second assembly of hollow coaxial shafts disposed parallel to the hollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the second assembly having a gear meshing with a corresponding drive wheel gear, the other end of each shaft of the second assembly having an indicator wheel carrying numbers, and in which there are a plurality of additional closely adjacent cam wheels for very high numbers (say for millions) which cam wheels are to. be manually set, a gear wheel for each high number cam wheel, another assembly of hollow coaxial shafts connecting each high number cam wheel to its gear wheel, said hollow shafts extending away from the said high number cam wheels in a direction opposite to the first assembly of hollow coaxial shafts, and in which there is another assembly of hollow coaxial shafts extending parallel to the hollow coaxial cam wheel shafts, each shaft of the parallel assembly having a gear meshing with the said manually settable gears, the other end of each shaft of the parallel assembly having an indicator wheel, all of said indicator wheels having numbers corresponding to the cam wheel position and the punch then back thereby,

7 said indicator wheels being conveniently adjacent for easy readout, and being disposed in the normal reverse sequence of units, tens, hundreds, etc. for easy readout.

23. A machine as defined in claim 22, in which said indicator wheels have projections to act as thumb wheels for manual setting and to also act as detent wheels, and in which there are spring pressed detents bearing on said detent wheels to center the position of a cam projection over a backup pin then being backed by the cam projection.

24. A machine for punching holes corresponding to serial numbers in record cards, said machine comprising a die having an array of punches disposed in closely adja- 13 14 cent columns corresponding to units, tens, hundreds and References Cited so on, the punches in each column corresponding to digits, UNITED STATES PATENTS an array of backup pins, one for each punch, an assembly of cam wheels for backing one or another of the backup gi L 332 3 pins in a column of such pins, drive means for the cam 5 3391863 7/1968 fi i j 'g 234 6i1 wheels, and means affording a bodily shift of the cam wheel assembly in axial direction relative to the columns WILLIAM LAWSON, Primary Examiner of backup pins and punches, in order to use a number of digits less than the number of cam wheels for a reduced US, Cl, X R maximum serial number. 10 234-413 

